Look around and find out if you can't find a better deal somewhere else or a cheaper alternative. Advertisements are supposed to convince the target audience that they are getting a great deal but most of the time that isn't entirely true. Odds are there is something on the market that's cheaper. Never fall for this trick. Whilst talking about ads and discounts there's this interesting article you should take a look at: Log In Department stores have learned that, to push customers’ buttons, they have to offer whopping discounts. But what some of them do to make the math work is to actually raise prices before a sale, so markdowns are pretty similar to the original, non-sale prices.
I admit I fall into this trap myself sometimes, but nowadays I don't buy too many expensive items anymore since the choices for cheap or reasonably priced products have grown over the years. Also since we already have online capabilities now there really is not much reason not to research before purchasing. I mostly just buy from bargain bins though during mall sales and those prices are always way low so I don't need to research as much for those.
I have to say, in as much as I'm a very keen shopper, I'm also a smart shopper. I'm very, very seldom taken in by marketing ploys, I have the knack for sniffing out all the BS and always know that you get the best deals only by shopping around and comparing prices. I refuse to be fooled.
I never believe advertisements only for themselves. The idea of an advertisement is to make you buy things, no matter what. Sometimes they are shady, have false premises or downright lie!!! I will always look for recommendations, online reviews, videoos, blogs, whatever when looking to buy something that interested me in an advertisement.
I do exactly the same thing, @isabbbela! I'm a member of a few online review discussion forums, and I always look up items on those sites before I take the plunge. It doesn't matter how old or how new the stuff is, I can usually find honest, unbiased opinions from like minded people who refuse to be taken in by all these flash commercials. I've also learnt to steer away from a lot of YouTube and general 'independent' reviewers because some of them are known to have been paid by these retailers to give glowing reviews. So you just have to be very careful where you check out reviews because even they can be deceiving!
Oh trust me, I am a master researcher. I can find almost anything online, and when it comes to shopping online, you can go from store to store and find the best deals. I don't and never have really trusted advertisements. They are geared towards persuading you that you should get their product because they want your money. I feel much better seeking out deals myself.
Marketing doesn't fool me because I'm not open to it.. I don't even see it. I have cleaned my life of unimportant things, for the most part, so advertisements don't even reach me. I don't get them in the mail.. I'm not celebrity or tv obsessed, so I don't see it on tv (don't even have service).. I block ads online.. I don't pay attention to it on the streets.. it's just not a part of my life, so there's no tricking me into buying even if I was one to believe anything at all I read from those who stand to gain from me. When I need something (not when I see an ad and want something), I look it up, see where it's offered, research the cheapest buy and grab it. Easy peasy.
I always look elsewhere to make sure there's nothing cheaper before I buy anything, because I never want to waste money when I could get a better deal. It is well worth the time that you spend doing this, because you should find that you can save a lot of money just from the small amount of time that you put into it, which of course is a good thing indeed.
With the Internet you wouldn't even have to physically go to the stores to check prices. You can even see how many items a store has in their inventory on their website. Places like Walmart are known for having that feature but incase they don't have it just give the store a call. It really wouldn't make sense to raise the prices just before the sale on an item that has been out for a while. You think people would notice a $20 item being raised to $25 just before it went on sale only for the sale to be $19.99. Though I guess these tricks must work otherwise there would be no incentive to keep doing so.
Advertisements of any kind are totally wasted on me - as apart from the fact that I rarely ever see them and when I do I don't really take much notice of them - as regardless of what they may be touting - they very definitely wouldn't have any influence on my spending habits. Simply because - not only do I always only ever buy things that are actually needed - but as quality and value for money are extremely important to me - I've always much preferred to do my own cost calculations and research on anything that I'm planning to buy - rather than buy on face value.
Marketing is very transparent to me, and I'd bet that it is transparent to many others also. But as JosieP said above, if you are still open to it, it can and will still have an effect. I don't like being manipulated, and I am very sensitive to when I am being manipulated, and these days marketing feel manipulative a lot of the time. Those people want your money. They don't care about your health, your financial situation. They just want your money and that is that.
It's funny how things change once you've opened your eyes and walk away from that world. You don't realize how much of your life is revolving around marketing manipulation and.. just.. STUFF! lol. Life is clutter and spending and what do I need next when you're focus is on tv and celebrity and ladders and and and. Many people don't even think they are. So when you walk away from that world.. turn off the tv etc, you slowly start to see the ad bubble everyone is living in. Sitting in their pews, praising the almighty dollar. Everyone needs a god I suppose.. we all have one in one way or another. Most just seem to pray Fat Cat though.. it's sad.
This is very interesting! I'm a media studies major and in school I have had pretty lengthy lectures and discussions about marketing, mainstream media, and how people are persuaded by them. A common occurrence is believing yourself to be unaffected by advertising, but believing that other people are. Apparently most people are affected by advertising in some way even if they don't realize it. I believe I am! I allow myself to be sold by Victoria's Secret all the time. Can I get a bra for cheaper somewhere else? Yes. Do I? Not a chance. It's nice to know other people have similar thoughts as I do, which is that many material things actually have very little importance in our lives. I want enough to be comfortable, a few nice things like bras from Victoria's Secret every once in a while, and that's fine with me. I live in a place where people try to out-spend their friends for bragging rights, and some days it's really hard for me to swallow! I think it's such a bad way to live!
It's like we are on this constant treadmill. Work more, to buy stuff you don't even want nor need, to impress and have social status over those people that you do not even like. I know that that is not the case for everyone. But it is the case for way too many. That's not a life. It's a farce, and society is all manipulated so that the masses will place value on the wrong thing, which feeds these corporations. Coincidence? Nope! Celebrities drive this agenda. Hollyweird drives this agenda. I completely agree with you, and it is very depressing when you have eyes to see, and others don't. It is very hard to have a conversation, as an awake person, with someone who is asleep.
I know and of course, it's us who sound like the weirdos because we're outnumbered so dramatically. I'm just trying to see that we all experience this journey differently and as long as they're happy, than that world was made for them. The thing is though, not many are actually happy.. like I said in another thread, we keep getting further and further from what and who we really are, no matter what we THINK we want of today's world. The perks are great, but they come at an alarming cost that our true beings aren't at all coping well with. But hey.. pills lol.
But the more people I meet, the more people are aware of what is going on. Still, we are outnumbered dramatically. That will and is changing though. Soon they are not going to be able to keep us slaving away. Exactly. None of them that I know are happy, and some peple just think they are until they achieve all the things that we are told to place value upon, and then they realize that those things have absolutely no worth or anything to do with being successful or happy.
Yep, truth. And you're right.. this perk we're using right this minute has given us access to more people than we ever could have imagined.. the world is so small now.. so meeting like minded people is easier than ever before. Just look at all the introverts we didn't think existed! haha I thought I was the only one.. extrovert was human, I was living a lie lol. Turns out, the right people outnumber the wrong in all the right ways.. I just wish everyone knew they were strong enough and that everything we grew up "knowing" isn't so, so they can all start their authentic lives outside their ad bubbles (distraction from reality much?) and stop wasting this one shot on things that don't actually mean anything to them. If it weren't for all this voluntary modern day slavery going on, I'm sure everyone would choose who they really are eventually.. but instead we have to contribute in ways that aren't us or suffer and fall through the cracks. Owned. Just fulfilling our worker bee contracts and then dead. That escalated quickly lmao...
Hahahaha! I have to agree with you there. Although I have extroverted tendencies - and when they are there, they are very extroverted - I am an introvert too, and the internet has been fabulous for letting me know that I am not alone in the way that I think or feel, or navigate this existence. Yes, the only thing that is lacking now is the confidence aspect. They keep pushing this race war too to keep us divided and fearful of one another. They are smart, but not smart enough to fool those who have the eyes to see. With every tragic event that they report in the news to push their agenda further, I grow more convinced of their desperation. Exactly, that is hardly a life lived.
That is why you have to make it your mission in life to know prices. Don't be fooled by the machinations of stores. I agree that often so called "sales' are not that great, so you need to go to a store that has the same item for less. These are the options that you need to look for and take advantge of when you are shopping.
Yeh, I think we've talked about the whole extrovert/introvert thing. I think most people are a mix. Personality wise I grew up extroverted.. I was introverted in how I recharged, how I was most productive etc, and I'm more introverted today.. laid back, rather be at home, exhausted by people (they're exhausting, emiright?? maybe it has nothing to do with introversion lol).. but love being around people and quiet extroverted when I am. I'd be perfectly happy to live out my days on a deserted island with my family though, so I suppose that says it all lol. It doesn't seem to matter how smart we all become and how open our eyes get.. it seems futile without fighting fire with fire and that will never happen (not that I want it to, I just want them to peacefully throw their hands up and decide not to govern anymore lol). Not to mention, it's how they all deal with each other and always have.. we all know how well that's working out for them lol. Civil disobedience is cute and all and it may get us a tiny treat or two but any rising leads to shorter leashes. Guns and bars.. the bullies always have the upper hand. Especially bullies capable of blowing up the planet lol. So we fight each other.. they always win. I'm verrry pessimistic when it comes to how we're ruled (media, marketing, government etc).. that's one thing you won't catch me pushing sunshine about lol.
